English AS language

Robin Lakoff

Robin Lakoff, in 1975, published an influential account of women's language. This was the book Language and Woman's Place. In a related article, Woman's language, she published a set of basic assumptions about what marks out the language of women. Among these are claims that women:

Use hypercorrect grammar and pronunciation:English prestige grammar and clear enunciation.

Use direct quotation:men paraphrase more often.

Have a special lexicon:women use more words for things like colours, men for sports.

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Use question intonation in declarative statements:women make declarative statements into questions by raising the pitch of their voice at the end of a statement, expressing uncertainty. For example, “What school do you attend? Eton College?”

Use “wh-” imperatives:(such as, “Why don't you open the door?”)

Speak less frequently

Overuse qualifiers:(for example, “I Think that...”)

Apologise more:(for instance, “I'm sorry, but I think that...”)

Use modal constructions:(such as can, would, should, ought - “Should we turn up the heat?”)

Avoid coarse language or expletives

Use indirect commands and requests:(for example, “My, isn't it cold in here?” - really a request to turn the heat on or close a window)

Use more intensifiers:especially so and very (for instance, “I am so glad you came!”)

Lack a sense of humour:women do not tell jokes well and often don't understand the punch line of jokes.